On Second Thought
by Miss Becky
Summary: What happened to our heroes after Winston's plane crashed.


On Second Thought  
by Miss Becky  
  
  
Disclaimer: The great guru, Stephen Sommers, owns these characters, and not me. More's the pity.  
  
Summary: What happened to our heroes after Winston's plane crashed.  
  
Rating: G  
  
I owe this one to Elyse for giving me the idea of continuing this. Thanks!  
  
******  
  
They stood together, watching the plane go down, three men. One was tall and impulsive, prone to swearing, and accustomed to going his own way. One was unused to danger, quietly worried, afraid he would let them all down. One was dark and somber, all too aware of the evil they were about to face.  
  
The taller of the three lifted a hand in a salute of farewell. The man in the middle looked uncertain. The man at the end held a gun of a type he had never seen before today, and wondered if any of them would live to see the end of this day.  
  
Without a word, they began to walk away, heading for Hamunaptra, and the Creature within.  
  
"So, do we have any kind of plan? Are we just going in there and shooting anything that moves?"  
  
"Yep," the American drawled.  
  
"I see," said the Englishman.  
  
"Unless you have a better idea," offered the tall American.  
  
"No, no," said the second man hastily. "I'm sure that will work beautifully. Shooting anything that moves, that is."  
  
"You don't say much, do you?" The American looked at the man in black.  
  
The leader of the Med-jai glanced at the American, this man who had already faced the Creature once under the sands of Hamunaptra. He knew that despite what the American claimed to believe, the tall man still thought of their enemy as a mortal, not as the true evil that the Creature was.  
  
"My name's O'Connell," said the American. "This here's Jonathan Carnahan."  
  
"That's my sister he kidnapped," put in the Englishman. "Evy."  
  
"I am Ardeth Bay," said the man in black.   
  
Hamunaptra drew closer. "So you're one of those Med-jai," mused the American. "You spend your whole life guarding this city? Doesn't that get awfully boring?"  
  
"Men such as yourself keep it from being so," the Med-jai said.  
  
The blue-eyed American laughed. "I bet we do."  
  
"I say," said the Englishman. "Do you know where to find this statue of Horus?"  
  
He had known Hamunaptra since he was a child, walking its sands and guarding its secrets. "I do," Ardeth said. "But the Creature will try and stop us."  
  
"Let him," O'Connell said grimly. "I'm ready."  
  
The Med-jai said nothing to this. The walls of Hamunaptra were before them.   
  
Jonathan Carnahan had time for one more question. "This Creature. Does he have a name?"  
  
Ardeth hesitated. As a rule, the Med-jai did not speak that name. Even his sarcophagus had been carved with the glyphs spelling, "He Who Shall Not Be Named." But they had been honest with him, and he owed them the same honesty. They were not here to kill the Creature. They were here to save the girl, Evelyn. He had an idea that if O'Connell had the chance, the American would seek to kill, but if the opportunity did not present itself, they would simply turn and flee Hamunaptra.  
  
Hadn't he himself told the man, "Live today. Fight tomorow."? But Ardeth had no such choice. The Creature had to be stopped, and to this end, he would do everything he could.   
  
To the point of giving up his own life.  
  
"His name is Imhotep," the Med-jai said. "He was Pharaoh Seti I's High Priest."  
  
"Imhotep." The American seemed to consider the name.  
  
"Right," said Jonathan Carnahan.  
  
They walked past the wall and now they were within Hamunaptra. Somewhere out there were the Med-jai, the protectors of the City of the Dead. Once, they had protected Pharoah, but for letting Seti die at Imhotep's hand, they had been punished. Seti's son, the new Pharaoh, had given them the new task of watching over Hamunaptra, in effect exiling the Med-jai to a harsh life in the desert.  
  
They had taken to their new task with the same stoic pride and dignity that had characterized their first duty. They understood the importance of what they did. They vowed that Imhotep would never rise, that Hamunaptra would forever keep its most dark secret. For three thousand years they preserved the city and the evil within.  
  
The Med-jai's failure was his own. Ardeth followed O'Connell into the underground city, keenly aware that he might just have seen the sun for the last time.  
  
Just inside the antechamber, O'Connell stopped and looked at them. "Are you ready?"  
  
Jonathan nodded, swallowing hard. "Y-yes."  
  
Ardeth looked at the American. "I am ready."  
  
Ahead, the chamber was dark, hiding what was inside. O'Connell pulled a pistol and fired at one of the ancient mirrors. A bare second later, the room was lit a warm gold, as the treasure within was revealed.  
  
Together the three men started walking forward.  
  
********  
  
END  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
